The US Air Force has temporarily deployed six KC-135 tankers (with 200 support personnel) to Burgas Air Base (in Bulgaria, 250 miles east of Sofia). This is the first time foreign troops have been deployed in that country since 1946, and the first time US troops have ever been deployed there. The tankers support aircraft flying missions from the US, Britain, or Germany to reach Afghanistan from the north. Romania is upgrading four of its airfields to NATO standards to support operations such as this. The first of these (Fetesti) is in operation; the others include Kogalniceanu, Otopeni, and Timisoara.--Stephen V Cole